


heaven's in your eyes

by ariquitecontrary



Series: in a hundred lifetimes [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Flirting, Instalove, Meet-Cute, Not So Clueless Clueless!Jughead, lots of flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-16 20:21:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19325404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariquitecontrary/pseuds/ariquitecontrary
Summary: The smile on her face hasn’t fallen yet and he’s never seen someone look so happy. Blame it on the inner writer in him, but the only way he can think of to describe her as is: sunshine. Her blonde hair looks like a halo surrounding her and the melancholy mood that had overcast the room is suddenly gone.





	heaven's in your eyes

**Author's Note:**

> My all time favorite love quote is: _"I'd choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I'd find you and I'd choose you."_ So this is going to be a collection of one shots where Betty and Jughead meet. All stories will be different and they don't tie into each other; just a bunch of random little meet-cutes. 
> 
> So yeah, enjoy. :)  
> Also take a shot every time I describe Betty as 'sunshine' or say her hair is like a halo in my stories.

Riverdale High is a joke. Jughead Jones has only been here for three weeks, but he knows that much already. He doesn’t care about their working restrooms like Sweet Pea does. Or about the nice and fancy computers the way that Toni does. Hell, he doesn’t even gush over the decent food the way that Fangs does every day. And it isn’t like Southside High was some kind of amazing school, because even he knows that it wasn’t. It was a shithole with so many health violations that he’s not sure how it even managed to stay up and running as long as it did, but that’s not the point. The point is, it had been theirs. It had been the one place where they didn’t have to hide who they are. No one glared at them for the leather jackets they wore on their backs. They weren’t gawked at when their motorcycles revved up in the school parking lot. They weren’t met with snorts of laughter and snide remarks at all hours of the day. Southside High had been home. And compared to it, Riverdale High is a jail cell. 

“Are you coming to the game tonight?” 

But of course, leave it to Toni Topaz to fit in right away. Jughead turns and narrows his eyes at the River Vixen uniform that his best friend is currently sporting. He can’t lie, Toni looks nice in it and the way that she’s smiling is something that he hasn’t seen on her in years and he’s happy for her, _he really is_ , but God, he wishes she didn’t have to find that happiness in the damn cheerleading squad of all places. It burns a little bit, probably because he seems to be the only one who just _misses_ Southside High. Toni had fun at Southside like they all did, but he can tell she seems happier in that hideous blue, gold, and white skirt set, and it just burns him up inside. 

“No.” 

Toni sighs and he can actually hear the sadness in it, which makes him feel like absolute shit. He knows that aside from the Serpents, she’s never really had anything that was hers. She had always wanted to be part of something, a team, which was why she had put her heart and soul into the Red and Black back at Southside High. When she made the River Vixens, she had called Jughead crying and laughing out of happiness and he was happy for her. He saw her start to get close to Riverdale’s infamous Golden Girls: Cheryl Blossom, Veronica Lodge, and Betty Cooper and he was _happy_ , but it still felt like a betrayal. 

These people aren’t their friends. They’re the same people who had turned their noses up at them when they protested at Picken’s Day because Northsiders would rather be comfortable than right their wrongs. They’re the same people who whispered nasty things when they saw them in the grocery store. They’re the same people who had thrown a fit when it was declared that Southside High and Riverdale High would finally merge into one. And as happy as he is for his best friend, he just can’t forget all of that. He doesn’t understand how she can. 

“We’ll be there, Tiny.” Sweetpea throws his arms over Toni and pulls her in for a hug, while Fangs nods in agreement. “With our phones so we can record you and make fun of you in ten years.” Toni shoves him away, but Jughead sees the way her cheeks redden and she smiles down at the ground. She looks so happy and he feels like the worst friend in the world for letting this get to him so much. He should _want_ to go support Toni but he can’t shake the horrible feeling of annoyance to all things Riverdale High that has become a part of him. “You should really come along with us, Jones. It’s actually kind of fun.” 

Southside High hadn’t had a football team, which had never bothered him. Jughead isn’t a sports kind of guy. He just never saw the appeal of hitting people over a ball. Sweet Pea was a different story though. He was over every Sunday night to watch NFL with Jughead’s dad and it was a nightmare to listen to the two of them scream and cheer at the TV all night long. He was kind of surprised that Sweet Pea hadn’t joined the team yet. They still had one more year, though. Jughead wouldn’t put it past him. 

“Well, I hope you’ll change your mind,” Toni says a bit too quietly to be normal. “And if not, Pop’s after the game?” It’s one of the things that doesn’t change. Toni still goes out to eat with them on Friday nights even though he knows that Cheryl invites her to go to the after-game party at the Blossom mansion. He’s not sure why she doesn’t go, because anyone with eyes can see the way she’s drawn to the redheaded girl. She won’t admit anything to him, but after knowing her for half his life, he thinks it’s safe to say that he knows her a little better than most. 

“Okay. I’ll do Pop’s after the game.” 

They separate soon after that. The game starts in two hours and Toni needs to warm up with the rest of the squad. Sweet Pea and Fangs like to get to the stadium early and Jughead isn’t exactly sure why, but he’s not about to ask. He’s pretty sure it has to do with their weird crushes on Josie McCoy and Midge Klump. If you ask Jughead, he doesn’t think they’re even on the girl’s radars, but that doesn’t stop them from drooling all over them. 

He doesn’t want to go home and he doesn’t really have anywhere else to go. So he decides to hang out in the Blue and Gold office. Being in the room is kind of bittersweet and it carries a strange energy. It’s laid out the same way the Red and Black’s office was, almost all the way down to the room’s design. It feels like the Blue and Gold is just _his_ newspaper office in another, neater, cleaner, _very Northside_ dimension. Once again though, it just reminds him of another thing that he’ll never have at Riverdale High, because it doesn’t feel like home.

At his old school, he’d been the Editor of the Red and Black. Much like Toni, he too had put his heart and soul into the school paper. He wrote things that actually had the student’s attention, which was hard to do at Southside High. He took it seriously. It wasn’t just something to add onto his college applications; it was something that mattered to him. It was something that he had loved. He runs his hand over the computer screen in this office though, and he knows that he’ll never have that here. Jughead Jones writing for the Blue and Gold? Even if he wanted to, there’s no way that would ever go down smooth with anyone. Truth be told, he’s not even sure who’s on staff for it because he tries to avoid Riverdale extracurriculars as much as he can. It’s a different kind of pain knowing he’ll never fit in here when it’s one of the only places he’d ever felt at home. 

 

He walks over to the main desk in the back of the room and picks up the article that’s laying down on top of it. Before he can even read the headline, the door to the room is thrown open and he whirls around to find a red faced girl laughing uncontrollably. 

He knows who Betty Cooper is. Of course he does. Toni doesn’t shut up about her. 

_‘Betty is so sweet, Jughead!’_  
‘Betty gave me a ride home today, she’s really the best.’   
‘Did you know that Betty likes writing too? Maybe you two could be friends.’  
‘Betty’s actually hilarious when you get to know her.” 

Betty. Betty. Betty. 

So yes, he knows who she is, but he’s never actually paid attention to her. Like most other things at Riverdale High, Jughead tends not to focus on any of his peers. They aren’t kindred spirits and they definitely aren’t his friends. They’re just people that he’s forced to see everyday due to unfortunate circumstances like toxic mold in the ceiling and budget cuts. 

So while he knows of Betty Cooper, he actually doesn’t know Betty Cooper at all. 

She’s in her River Vixen uniform, blonde hair in a high ponytail with a big sparkly blue bow on top. The smile on her face hasn’t fallen yet and he’s never seen someone look so happy. Blame it on the inner writer in him, but the only way he can think of to describe her as is: sunshine. Her blonde hair looks like a halo surrounding her and the melancholy mood that had overcast the room is suddenly gone. Her laughter is loud and infectious and he finds himself smiling despite his drawn-out, dramatic inner turmoils. 

It fades as soon as she looks up and allows the laughter to fall from her face as she realizes that she isn’t alone in the room. She stands up straight and Jughead knows what’s about to happen. She’s going to take one look at his leather jacket and freak out the way that everyone else does. She’s going to give him an ugly look and demand to know just what he’s doing creeping around in the school paper’s office. She’s going to —. 

“Oh,” she says, a little breathless from all the laughing he presumes. “Hi, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize anyone would be in here.” He doesn’t say anything. He’s too dazed to really even think anything. She doesn’t sound scared or disgusted as she talks to him, so that’s new. And he watches as the small smile makes its way back onto her face. 

“I’m Betty!” She steps away from the door and towards him and he stays planted where he was. The sound of heavy footsteps rings out from the hallway and Betty clamps a hand over her mouth, looking genuinely startled. “Shh!” She says to Jughead as if he had even _been_ talking. He looks at her like she’s crazy as she grabs his hand and tugs him behind the large mahogany desk before yanking him down to hide behind it. He follows her lead despite the voice in his head telling him to get away from Riverdale High’s resident royalty. 

“Betty!” A deep voice rings out from the hallway. “This isn’t funny!” The door to the Blue and Gold is thrown open and Betty’s eyes widen as she looks over at Jughead, but they’re gleaming with mischief and excitement. She grins and brings her finger up to her lips, silently reminding him to stay quiet. Against his better judgement, he brings up his own finger to his lips and mimics her. It’s only when he realizes that he has to use his left hand instead of his right, that he notices she’s still holding onto his hand. He doesn’t look down at it, because he doesn’t want her to know that he’s noticed, because for some reason, he kinda likes the feeling of her hand in his. Her smile grows softer at his actions and this time, he _does_ smile back. 

The person, whoever it is, walks around the room a bit before hurrying back out of the door and into the hallway again. As soon as he’s gone, Betty lets out a sigh and stands up, pulling Jughead up with her. She lets go of his hand once they’re standing upright again and Jughead slides it into the pocket of his jacket. 

“Sorry,” she says sheepishly. “Archie’s pissed at me. I might have accidentally dunked his head into the gatorade jug.” 

“Accidentally?” 

Betty looks shocked at the word and Jughead doesn’t understand why until he realizes that it’s the first thing he’s actually said to her since being in this room together. He doesn’t think it’s a big deal but from the way she’s now looking at him, he has a feeling she might think otherwise. 

“I just wanted to dunk his hair, surprise him a little bit. I don’t know my own strength though.” Jughead looks her up and down. She doesn’t look like she’d be able to win an arm wrestle march with a bunny, much less have the strength to dunk the whole upper half a football player. Especially not one who’s as built as Archie. Jughead has a few classes with Archie Andrews so he knows who she’s referring to. He thinks that they might have a thing going on. They’re always together and Toni’s mentioned him a few times when she talks about Betty. It’s not like he cares. It’s just weird to think about right now considering the fact that she had just been gripping onto his hand for dear life as said boyfriend looked for her. 

“Well… I hope that he doesn’t find you.” 

Betty gives him a strange look; one that he can’t decipher, and then she’s reaching out and offering her hand to him. “I’m Betty, like I was saying before we were rudely interrupted.” Jughead looks at her hand, tries to forget about how he was just holding it a few seconds ago, and reaches out to grab it gently. 

“I’m —.”

“Jughead Jones,” she finishes for him. His eyes widen and she realizes what she’s said and he watches as her cheeks redden. It’s a different red from before. She looks almost embarrassed now. “Uh… sorry. I just… I know who you are. Sometimes I don’t think before I speak. That was a little rude of me.” 

“You know who I am?” Is this the part when she finally expresses her distaste for him?

“Of course,” she says a little too quickly before smiling. She tilts her head and her blonde ponytail swishes to the side. He hates how cute he finds it. He never finds people cute, yet here he is, looking at Riverdale High’s princess and deeming her the cutest girl he’s ever seen. “Umm… Toni talks about you a lot.” Toni. Right. Of course. “So what are you doing in the Blue and Gold Office, Jughead?” 

He’s a little too wrapped up in the way she says his name, but he still finds it in himself to somehow answer her. “Just didn’t want to go home.” 

Betty nods as if she completely understands. “Well, do you like what you see?” 

He stiffens and he can actually feel his face heat up. “Excuse me?” 

“Here. Do you like what you see here? At the office.” 

Oh. Right. God, what the hell is with him right now? “Sure, I guess.” 

She looks a little disappointed at that. “You guess? Oh… Toni said you used to be the Editor of the Red and Black at Southside High.” What the hell? Why would Toni tell her that? “I’ve read some of your work. I uh, I actually thought about asking you to join the Blue and Gold.” 

None of what he’s hearing makes any sense and he’s still wrapped up in the fact that Toni’s talking to Betty about the fact that he _likes to write_ of all things. These people here aren’t supposed to know that, he doesn’t want them knowing that, so why would she tell Betty that? He decides not to focus on that part and instead focuses on the rest of the insanely weird sentence. 

“You’ve read my work?” He asks, stunned. “Why?” 

Betty’s face remains red as she diverts her eyes away from his. “We could always use another hand here.” That doesn’t answer his question at all, but he decides not to push. 

“‘We’?” He asks instead. 

“Yes. I’m the Editor.” 

He raises his eyebrows in genuine shock. Betty Cooper? The Editor of the Blue and Gold? The part of him that wants to hate Riverdale High and everything about it, wonders how in the world a ditzy cheerleader like Betty Cooper could be the editor of the school newspaper. But the part of him that’s just spent the past five minutes with her knows that it makes complete sense. In fact, he feels horrible for even considering her to be “ditzy” in the past. He hadn’t even known her. Why was he judging her like he did?

“Oh,” he finally says. “I didn’t know that.” 

“You didn’t?” She sounds upset by this and for the life of him, he can’t figure out why. Why would that upset her? It’s not like they’d ever even had a conversation with each other before. As quickly as it had come though, it’s gone and replaced by another smile before he can even question her. “Well, I am! So if you’re interested in joining, we could always use some new voices. Especially one like yours.” 

He smiles. He’s always loved getting recognized for his work, but right now it means a little more for some reason. He doesn’t even know Betty Cooper, but for some reason the fact that she likes his work is making him feel incredibly good. 

“Thanks. I’ll think about it.” They stand there in silence for a few seconds, smiling at each other, before he finally speaks up again. “Shouldn’t you be at the game?” He gestures down at her uniform and he tries not to think about how he’d thought the uniform was so hideous on Toni, but on Betty it looks really nice. She’s a lot taller than Toni is and her legs look incredibly long in the short skirt. It fits her perfectly and she looks beautiful; it’s that simple. 

“I should, yes.” She doesn’t make an effort to move. “Are you coming?” 

Yes. “No.” She frowns and he bites at his lip. Why does he suddenly want to go to the stupid game? “I uh, I don’t do football games.” 

“Not a fan?” 

“Not at all.” 

“What about the Vixens? Are you a fan of them?” Betty steps closer to him and Jughead can feel his heart rate kick. Is she flirting with him? He’s not a stranger to girls flirting with him. At Southside High there had been tons of them, but it was never anything serious and nothing that had ever made his heart race the way that it is right now. Isn’t she with Archie? He definitely thought they were together, but it doesn’t seem like it right now. 

“I uh…” 

“I’ve always thought that we’re more interesting to watch anyway. Wouldn’t you agree?” She’s not smiling at him anymore. Instead she looks a little shy and determined. It’s a weird combination that he’s never seen on anyone before. “You should come. It could be fun.” 

“Okay.” The word comes out of his mouth before he can even think it through. He’s about to backtrack and tell her that he actually can’t go, but then she’s smiling so beautifully at him that he thinks he would do anything she asked him to do in this moment and _how the hell had he never noticed Betty Cooper before_? 

She reaches out for his hand and he doesn’t hesitate before taking ahold of it once again. Betty Cooper leads him out of the Blue and Gold office and yeah. Jughead knows he’d follow her anywhere now. 

.

.

.

Sitting in between Fangs and Sweetpea is a nightmare. Of course they had noticed when he walked to the stadium hand-in-hand with Betty. They had looked like cartoon characters as their eyes widened and their mouths dropped. He would have laughed at them if he hadn’t been a bit embarrassed by the whole ordeal. He wasn’t embarrassed to be seen with Betty, hell no. It was more of the fact that he wasn’t used to showing off like this when it came to girls. He knew that his friends wanted to ask him just what the hell had happened in the last hour since they’d left him, but one look from him was enough to get them to shut up.

Kind of. 

“Betty Cooper?” Fangs suddenly says. 

“Midge Klump?” Jughead fires back. 

“She hardly knows I exist. We sure as hell didn’t walk to the football game together holding hands!” 

“We weren’t holding hands.” 

Fangs reaches out and grabs ahold of Sweetpea’s hand, holding it exactly the way that Betty had been holding his just ten minutes earlier. “What do you call this, Jones?” When Jughead doesn’t answer, Fangs turns his attention towards their other friend. “Sweets, what do you call this?” 

“Holding my hand.” 

“Exactly.” He makes to pull away, but Sweetpea grips it tighter. 

“Bro, your hands are so soft. Don’t let go.” 

“I like yours, they’re rough.”

“Do you two need a minute?” Jughead snaps. He glares at the hands that are being held in front of him and Fangs and Sweetpea immediately let go. “I just ran into her in the Blue and Gold and we started talking.” He leaves out the part where they didn’t exactly talk at all. She just looked at him and smiled and he was done for. He doesn’t know if that makes him pathetic or something, but he’s pretty sure that he’s not the only guy to fall under her charm, which brings him to his next question. “Isn’t she dating Archie Andrews?” 

The smirks that his friends give him make him wish that he would just shut up for once. 

“Does it matter?” Fangs asks with a stupid smile on his face. Asshole. “What if she is?” 

“I know they’re really close,” Sweetpea teases. “Apparently they’re next door neighbors and childhood best friends.” 

“Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without the information that you two just gave me.” 

Fangs snorts. “They’re not dating, man. I have Betty in English and I know for a fact that she’s single. Her and Veronica Lodge were talking about being single the other day.” 

“Isn’t Veronica dating Reggie?” 

“Yeah,” Fangs answers Sweetpea. “I think they were having a fight or something. But he brought her three dozen roses and now they’re all good again.” 

“Sweet. They’re a badass couple.” 

Jughead watches his friends with a bewildered look. Since when were they so into the lives of the kids at Riverdale? 

“What the hell is this? The Real Girlfriends of Riverdale? Why are you two so invested in them?” 

Now it’s Fangs and Sweetpea’s turn to give him a weird look. “Uh, cause they’re our friends?” 

The sentence hits something inside of him. Friends. His friends consider people like Cheryl, Veronica, Reggie, and Archie _their_ friends. This whole time Jughead has been openly hating everything and anyone that was attached to Riverdale High while _his_ friends were out making friends with them all. He suddenly feels like the biggest asshole alive. 

Before he can say anything else, the announcer’s voice rings throughout the stadium as he welcomes them to the game. He hadn’t even realized how the stands are starting to fill up more and more now. But then again he hadn’t exactly been paying attention to what was going on around him. His focus had been completely on Betty as he watched her do different kind of warm up activities on the track. She’s currently fluffing up her pom-poms and Jughead definitely should not be as intrigued by the action as he is. 

As if she can feel his gaze on her, she turns her head towards him and waves at him with a shiny blue pom-pom. She looks so energetic and happy and Jughead couldn’t stop himself from smiling back even if he wanted to. A brunette girl standing next to her follows her friend’s eyes and Jughead knows who she is right away. Veronica Lodge was hard to miss even if you _were_ trying to miss her. He watches as she squints in confusion before jumping a little in surprise. Jughead doesn’t know if he should acknowledge the fact that he knows she’s currently staring at him, but before he can really consider anything, she’s turning toward Betty and pulling the girl close to her to whisper in her ear. He has no clue what she’s saying, but Betty’s cheeks redden just a little bit and he’d pay big money to figure out just what she told her. 

Veronica walks away, but not before sneaking one last glance towards him, and then Betty is looking over at him again. There’s her shy smile on her face and he wishes that he knew what she’s thinking. It’s insane, but all he wants to do right now is talk to her. He’d never even thought of her before, but now she’s in his head like mantra and he’s pretty sure he likes it. She gives him one last wave before turning around to face the football field. Immediately he finds himself missing her gaze on him.

“ _And now, lets give it up for your Riverdale Bulldogs!_ ”

.

.

.

He had been right. He definitely is not a football guy. He wouldn’t be able to tell you what the hell just happened in these last couple of hours. He’s pretty sure that Reggie Mantle broke some guy’s collarbone and that Jason Blossom scored the winning touchdown, but honestly? He might just be talking out of his ass. He can’t really be blamed though. It was hard to pay attention to the game when Betty Cooper was down there doing different cheers and dances. Her smile never left her face and she made it a point to catch his eye a random moments throughout the night. 

He’s not really sure where to go from here. People from the stands start to flood onto the football field, greeting and congratulating the Bulldogs on a good well done. Even Sweetpea and Fangs are down there. He just doesn’t feel comfortable though, so he stands off next to the bleachers and waits. He’s pretty sure that Toni will be ready soon enough and then they can go to Pop’s and he can try to forget this Twilight Zone of a day. 

“Hi.” 

He looks up and Betty Cooper is standing a mere seven feet away from him. She looks a little nervous, like she isn’t sure if she should come closer to him or not. Her cheeks are flushed from the cool air and strands of baby hair are falling loose from her ponytail. She looks slightly out of breath and Jughead feels the same exact way.

“I was looking for you on the stands.” 

“You were?” 

She just smiles. “How did you like your first Riverdale football game?” 

“I don’t think I’ve been missing much.” 

Betty laughs, an actual loud laugh and not some shy giggle. It’s a nice noise that he’d love to hear again and again. 

“Well, I liked seeing you in the stands.” For as shy as she looks, Betty Cooper is a pretty bold girl. Although her cheeks do flush red when she says the words and her green eyes look away from him for a second. “Do you think this will be your first and last game?” Her eyes are on him again, wide and curious and almost pleading in a way. He knows what she’s asking without her having to ask at all. And he knows his answer. Of course he does. 

“That depends.” 

“On?” 

“Which games you’re cheering at.” 

Betty’s smile starts off small before growing and growing until her entire face is lit up. He’s only known her one day, but Jughead Jones knows that his life is never going to be the same. 

“Here,” Betty says as she digs through her cheer bag to pull out her phone. She hands it to him, a slight shake to her movements. “Put your number in there and I’ll text you our schedule. If you want.” 

If he _wants_? Of course he wants. The idea of Betty Cooper having his phone number is kind of insane to him but then again, this entire day feels like some kind of dream. So he puts his number into her phone and hands it back to her. 

“Are you coming to Cheryl’s tonight?” She asks, looking anxious as she waits for his answer. “Everyone is invited.” 

“Even Southside scum like me?” The words are more of a reflex than anything and he hadn’t been able to stop them from flying out of his mouth. Betty frowns deeply and takes a step _towards_ him, which makes Jughead take a step back. Her face falls but he doesn’t know why. 

“Don’t say that about yourself,” she tells him, sounding genuinely upset. “Nobody thinks that about you, Jughead.” 

Right. “Oh, I’m sure.” 

“I’m serious.” Her voice is borderline pleading with him right now and it’s weird. Why does she care what he thinks about himself? “Nobody says that. I wouldn’t lie to you about something like that.” 

The crazy thing is, he believes her. He believes that she wouldn’t lie to him about that, but still. Maybe she just doesn’t know what people say, maybe she doesn’t hear it. He can’t blame her for that. 

“Well, either way, I don’t think I’d fit in at Cheryl Blossom’s party.” 

Betty just laughs like he’s saying complete nonsense. “You definitely will. Okay, you don’t have to come if you really don’t want to, but if you do decide to… I’ll be there.” 

She smiles and waves goodbye to him and turns around. Her ponytail is swaying behind her and her skirt flies up the slightest bit at a random gust of wind. There’s a hop to her step and fuck if Jughead doesn’t love watching her leave, but… _but_. 

“Betty!” He calls out and the blonde twirls around to face him, smile still on her face, but now it’s a lot more cunning. “You gotta ride?” 

“I usually tag along with Veronica.” 

“You ever been on the back of a motorcycle?” 

She grins wickedly. 

.

.

.

Jughead never lets people ride his motorcycle with him. He’s never liked having someone behind him. It always felt like too much weight and like he was being crowded. But fuck if he doesn’t love the way Betty Cooper had felt behind him. 

She had wrapped her arms around him tightly and pressed their bodies together as her thighs caged him in. He could smell her shampoo and perfume as they sped through the roads of Riverdale. Betty had been laughing behind him in excitement, which had caused him to start laughing as well. Her laughter was infectious and he was kind of in love with it. 

As soon as they park his bike at Thornhill, Betty is screeching in excitement. 

“Oh, my gosh!” She squeals as she takes off the helmet Jughead had offered her. She’s wearing his Serpent jacket, because he hadn’t wanted her to be cold on the ride, but she doesn’t offer that back to him. He doesn’t ask for it either. “Is it always that much fun?” 

“Everytime.” 

“Will you take me for a ride again?” Her eyes are shining as she asks the question and he’s nodding before she even finishes the question. “I can’t wait!” She hands him the helmet and he takes it back, a little in shock over today’s events still, but starting to really accept that all of this is real. 

“Come on, let's go! Cheryl always has the best drinks here.” He’s about to tell her that he doesn’t actually drink alcohol, but then she’s grabbing his hand and lacing their fingers together and he forgets how to do anything except follow her. She looks incredible in his jacket; the black leather is a stark contrast to the blue and gold cheer uniform she’s still wearing. He wonders if anyone will say anything when they see her in it, but she doesn’t seem concerned at all about that, so he tries not to be either. 

Betty is all but skipping up the vast driveway, looking excited and happy and everything Jughead is not. He can’t help but feel a little nervous as he gets closer and closer to the Blossom mansion. He knows that his friends will be here, he had texted them to tell them the change of plans, but it doesn’t help to ease the dread that’s starting to curl up inside of him. 

Like she can sense that something’s wrong with him, Betty turns around to face him. She’s still smiling and he wonders if she ever stops. He hopes she never does. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” she comforts like she knows him, like she’s always known him. “I promise you, it’s going to be okay. Dare I say you’ll even have fun?” 

Jughead chuckles. “Not likely, Betty.” 

Her eyes shine with happiness at the use of her name and she steps closer to him. Their fingers are still intertwined and with her other free hand, she reaches up and places a gentle touch to his upper arm. It’s a little pathetic how he immediately feels calm at it. 

“If you don’t like it, we can leave and go to Pop’s or something.” 

“You’d leave with me?” He asks, shocked. 

“Of course. Well, if you wanted me to, otherwise no. I guess I wouldn’t.” 

“I’d want you to,” he reassures her quickly. Betty laughs and nods. 

“Okay, then come on! We’re late.” 

They do seem to be late actually, given the way music is already blaring loudly from inside Thornhill. There are kids littered all over the grounds and inside the mansion looks like something straight from a teen movie. 

There are couples making out on the large staircase and people dancing and chugging beers in the foyer. Some girl he’s never seen before is dancing on a table in the living room and a few people are playing drinking games around a large dining room table. The place looks absolutely insane and for some reason, it’s intriguing to him. 

Betty leads him downstairs and at first he thinks he’s about to enter some shady basement, but of course the Blossom’s basement is like a freaking wonderland. 

There are some of the fanciest looking billiard tables he’s ever seen in front of him. Reggie Mantle is playing against some other football player whose name he can’t remember. There’s an air hockey table, foosball tables, an honest-to-God jukebox in the corner of the room that’s playing Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode. 

“Crazy, right?” Betty comments once she sees his face. “This room is my favorite.” 

He doesn’t have to wonder why. Everyone seems to be having the time of their lives down here and it’s a sort of energy that’s contagious. 

Archie Andrews and Jason Blossom are standing next to a large fireplace, letterman jackets on their backs, as they talk to Chuck Clayton and Josie McCoy. Archie has an arm thrown around Jason’s shoulders while Jason’s arm is wrapped around Archie’s waist. The four of them are laughing and it looks so inviting. 

Veronica Lodge is behind a bar mixing drinks while Cheryl Blossom and _Toni_ talk with her. It’s crazy to see Toni here talking with Northsiders like it’s normal, but then he realizes that it is normal; it had always been normal. He was the only one who refused to see and accept that. 

“Jones!” A loud voice yells out in glee. “You actually came!” He turns around to see Sweet Pea and Fangs grinning at him. They both turn their attention to Betty who is standing by idly. 

“Hey, Betty,” Fangs says a little too happily. “Good game tonight.” 

“You say that like I played.” 

“Everyone knows the cheerleaders are the real stars,” Sweet Pea says with a wink and Jughead is a little put off by how comfortable his friends seem to be with Betty. “I’m glad you were able to talk this one into coming! He’s so antisocial.” 

“Shut up,” Jughead snaps. He’s not really in the mood to be teased by his friends right now. In fact, he doesn’t want to be around them. He wants to talk to Betty alone, somewhere all these prying eyes and loud voices aren’t. But of course, because the entire world is against him, Reggie fucking Mantle, of all people, saunters up to them with a wobble to his step. 

“Donnie fucking Darko,” he cheers like him and Jughead are friends, like they even _know_ each other. “Never thought I’d see you at one of these.” 

“Well, I live to surprise you.” He says it as dryly as possible, but Reggie gets a hoot out of it as he laughs loudly and claps a hand onto Jughead’s back. His first instinct is to punch the other guy but then he sees Betty’s face. She’s watching the whole ordeal with hopeful eyes and he doesn’t understand any of it. 

“You want a drink, man?” 

“No,” Jughead says. 

“Come on! Ronnie makes the best drinks! You want something fruity, is that it? No need to be ashamed.” 

Jughead knows Reggie’s just messing with him the way that friends mess with each other, but they aren’t friends and so his joking is just starting to piss him off. He tenses up and curls his fists, feeling the anger flow through him, but then Betty is reaching for him and wrapping a soft and gentle hand over his. He glances at her and it’s almost like she’s talking to him through her eyes, pleading with him to calm down. 

And he does. 

“He doesn’t drink,” she tells Reggie, even though she doesn’t actually know that. “Thanks, though, Reg.” 

“Oh, shit! Sure thing. Sorry, man. I didn’t know.” Reggie smiles apologetically at him and Jughead just nods, shocked to see that he seems genuine in the apology. “Well, I gotta go get my girl before she gets too drunk off those damn things. It was good seeing ya!” Reggie claps his shoulder one last time before walking off to Veronica and Jughead watches in wonder. 

Odd. 

“You okay?” Betty asks him once Reggie is gone. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just… it’s so loud in here.”

“Wanna get some air?” 

He can’t nod fast enough. 

Thornhill in its entirety is so vast that he can’t really wrap his head around it. The grounds seem to go on forever and ever and he has no idea where Betty is leading him, but following her in the moonlight seems to be the only thing he can do. 

He’s considering asking her if maybe she’s leading him out to his death, when she stops. 

She turns around to look at him and he’s stunned for a moment. The moonlight is hitting her perfectly that even though it’s pitchblack dark outside, he can see her clearly. Green eyes gleam at him in a way that nothing ever has before; happy and hopeful and full of something he can’t name. Her cheeks are pink, because of the cool air or something else, he doesn’t know. Her lips, soft and slightly plump and so _pretty_ , are smiling at him. She’s never stopped smiling at him and he doesn’t know why. He does know one thing though; he can’t imagine how he ever looked past her before. She is beautiful. She’s beauty in itself. 

“What?” She says softly and he realizes that he’d been thinking out loud. He clears his throat. 

“You’re beautiful,” he repeats because a girl like Betty deserves to hear that. 

“You think so?” 

He can’t help it, he laughs. 

“Think? I know so, Betty.” She smiles shyly before looking away from him, a troubled look coming over her. He frowns. “What’s wrong?” 

She opens her mouth and closes it a few times like she doesn’t really know what to say; like she does and she doesn’t want to. He waits. 

“You never noticed me before,” she finally says, voice so soft that it almost gets caught up in the wind.

He’s too shocked for words. He has no idea what to say to that. He can’t say it’s not true, because well, in a sense it is. Sure, he had noticed her but he was too busy hating Riverdale High and everything in it. He saw her and wanted to believe he was seeing a dense, blonde cheerleader. He feels ashamed at even thinking that now. He doesn’t know Betty all that well, it’s only been a few hours for fuck’s sake, but he knows that he was wrong about her. She’s someone that he’s dying to know; someone that he wants to hold close to him already. It’s crazy. He’s never felt like this, especially not because of a girl. But there’s something about her. 

“Well, I’m sure you didn’t notice me either,” he says, trying to joke. Betty looks down again. She mumbles something but he can’t understand it. “What?” 

“I did notice you,” she says louder, picking her head up to look him in the eyes. She looks embarrassed and he wants to tell her that she never has to feel like that around him, but he’s too shocked over the words she just said. 

“What?” He repeats again, because apparently that’s all he can say. 

“I noticed you the first day you showed up at Riverdale High.” She twirls her fingers nervously. “You looked so angry and dangerous and I noticed you. It’s really not a secret to anyone who knows me, but I kind of have a crush on you, Jughead Jones. That’s why Reggie was so excited to see you at the party; he’s been pushing me to talk to you for a while now.” 

His mouth falls open at the words like he’s some kind of damn cartoon character. 

“ _What_?” 

Betty lets out a puff of laughter. “Is that all you know how to say?” 

“No,” he says quickly, shaking his head. “I just… it’s really hard for me to believe that.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I’m me and you’re… you.” 

“Great observation.” 

“I just mean that… you’re smart and gorgeous and a fucking River Vixen.” She recoils like that’s a bad thing and he backtracks. “There’s nothing wrong with being one, Betty! But don’t you see, we’re just so different. You should have crushes on guys like Archie Andrews.” 

“Gross,” she says as her face pinches up. “Archie is like a brother to me. Would you want to date your brother?” Jughead makes a disgusted face and she nods. “Exactly. Who cares if we’re different, Jughead? Why would I want to date someone exactly like me?” 

“You want to date me?” He asks, bewildered. 

“Maybe. You know, if you don’t believe me, you can ask Toni. She knows all about my unrequited crush.” 

He starts to shake his head, about to tell her that’s impossible, when it all starts to make sense. Toni always inviting him to the games, to Cheryl’s parties, always talking about Betty, bragging about her to him, and trying to get him to be friends with her. She fucking knew. Holy. Shit. 

“Yeah,” Betty says slowly when she realizes that Jughead has started to piece it all together. She looks a little embarrassed and very shy now. He wants to say something, but he’s too busy trying to make sense of any of this. “That’s why I read your old stuff from the Red and Black. I guess I was just interested in you and you weren’t interested in me so that was the only way I really knew how to understand you. I’m sorry, that’s probably so creepy.” 

“No!” He says quickly. “That’s not creepy at all. I just… I never would have thought that; not even in a million years.” 

“Well, surprise. I’m sorry if I just made things weird. We can just stay friends.” 

“Yes,” he says. Betty’s face falls and he shakes his head. “I mean no. Well, yes, yes lets be friends, but Betty.... I’m interested in you too.” It’s incredible just how interested he is in her after only knowing her for an evening. This isn’t like him at all, but he can’t help it. He feels a pull towards her that he never has with anyone else. 

“You are?” 

He nods. 

“I know that we don’t know each other, but I want to change that. We should go out sometime.” He feels like an idiot saying the words, but he’d say them over and over again if they made Betty’s face light up the way it is now. 

“Sure,” she says happily. “But why wait?” She grabs his hand and pulls him down to the grass. It’s strangely soft and not at all itchy like the kind he’s used to. They sit cross-legged and Betty looks over at him; stars and heaven in her eyes. Their hands are locked together and he runs his thumb over her back of her hand. “Tell me something about yourself, Jughead Jones.”

And he does.


End file.
